Up to seven Malaysia Airlines planes were delayed in their scheduled maintenance
By Shantini Mogan
KUALA LUMPUR 30 AUGUST:Industry sources stated that up to seven Malaysia Airlines Bhd aircraft are thought to have been grounded for longer than anticipated, resulting in several flight delays and cancellations.
The grounded aircraft are waiting on replacement engines and engine parts, which are presumably coming from Pratt & Whitney and CFM International, two manufacturers of aircraft engines.
According to information obtained by Business Times, the aircraft parked are two Airbus A330-300s, one A350-900, and six Boeing B737-NG (new generation) planes.It is reported that the aircraft are waiting on newly ordered engines and engine parts.
“Due to a shortage of engines and engine parts, the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) turnaround time is longer than anticipated.
The lack of timely availability of engine parts is mostly linked to the supply chain at CFM and Pratt & Whitney.According to an aviation insider who spoke to Business Times today, “the time at the shop (aircraft MRO workshop) where engines and parts are repaired and serviced is longer than what is planned.”
The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine powers the A350.The aviation division of Rolls-Royce, CFM International, Pratt and Whitney, and Malaysia Airlines’ parent company Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) have all been contacted by Business Times for comments.MAG and Rolls-Royce had addressed inquiries as of the time of publication.
“One of our engines was damaged following a bird strike and is awaiting spare parts,” a Rolls-Royce spokeswoman stated.We’re working closely with our customer to complete this engine repair as soon as possible.
“It is also learnt that Malaysia Airlines had subcontracted the engine maintenance work to the OEMs and approved engine MROs.Another aviation industry source said it is normal for an airline to outsource some of its aircraft maintenance works as it involves many different types of servicing, repair and replacement technicalities that require the certification and approval of various local and international aviation regulators and aviation bodies.
Not all aircraft MRO companies are certified to do engineering works on all types of airplanes, the source added.”Certain parts of the plane, the engine, could be subcontracted to the OEM or an approved engine MRO company. (An airline’s) in-house engineers could maybe do certain technical checks or paint the aircraft.
Business Times revealed on August 26 that Malaysia Airlines was temporarily cutting the number of flights it operated to 13 foreign locations.Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Jakarta, Jeddah, Medan Kualanamu, Mumbai, Osaka–Kansai, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai Pu Dong, Singapore, Tokyo–Narita, and Yangon from Kuala Lumpur were among them.In the first part of September, Malaysia Airlines will also run its A350-900XWB (extra widebody) from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai Pu Dong.
The A330, which is scheduled to operate the route on September 1, 6, and 13, will be replaced by the A350.Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst, and the founder if Endau Analytics, an aviation company, both applaud Malaysia Airlines’ decision to reduce flight frequency.(LINKDEN SHUKOR YUSOF)
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